Hi everyone! I am new here but I feel that I've "been here and done that." I have a question for everyone?.... Are you optimistic or pessimistic? I am always both, because I feel that it will always bring truth to myself (In the end) You have to decide!
Pessimistic. I'm a 20 year-old cynic, and that ain't good. And people frequently comment on it, so it's not as if I'm being unnecessarily harsh to myself. I am trying to be more optimistic, though. Let's tell a joke to lighten the mood: You can kiss a nun once or twice, but don't get into the habit.
Overall a pessimist. Today, I was hopeful when I randomly got $80 in the mail today... but then, conveniently, the car's battery is dead. I REALLY wanted to shop in the city today. Now what? What's the point...? I'm obsessed with "morbid" stuff, and that's something that's commented on by others... but so what? On the flipside, the best thing about being a pessimist is that when good things happen, provided they STICK... it's a pleasant feeling when that proverbial black cloud dissipates.
Both, but mostly a pessimist. I expect the worst while I try to hope for the best. That has always seemed the most sensible way to go to me.
Pessimistic. Why? Partly because people who register here make strange posts unrelated to writing without first introducing themselves.
All that means is that you are neither optimistic nor pessimistic relative to your own world view. Like measuring the length of your arm with a measuring stick whose unit of length is the length of your arm.
Somewhere between optimism and pessimism lies pragmatism. It's fine to be hopeful as long as you realize that things might not go the way you had hoped. But you really can't assume that things will go well nor that they won't. Neither assumption is valid and therefore useless as a philosophy. Randomness is a fact of life. It's fair and just. There's never a good reason for optimism or pessimism. Pragmatism will serve you best.
Pragmatism is boring? To me it's exhilarating! It's freedom from delusion, unwarranted conclusions, false generalizations, contradictions, slogans, wishes, self doubts and fears. Pessimism/optimism (manic depression) may be a fun roller coaster for some folks but it holds no allure for me. Albeit, I think it's at least plausible that everyone's life finds its own equalibrium, a natural balance of joy and pain. And if happiness has to come out even with sorrow in the end, then I might be in big trouble. I try to take my joy in tiny sips, hoping my sorrow will be equally shallow. But usually I end up swallowing happiness in gluttonous gulps, believing all the while in justice, and so rejoicing at little setbacks and petty unpleasantness, hoping to eat away at the deficit. I know that if the universe is truly reciprocal, I have already had my fair share of happiness, and in the end I will have a tremendous, bone-crushing debt to pay. But who can really say? Oh, and by the way, your profanity suggests anger. Maybe that's an emotion you enjoy, too.
